A car crash caused by a 17-year-old girl sent one man to the
hospital with broken legs Wednesday evening and snarled traffic on
Pecos Road as Ahwatukee Foothills residents were returning home en
masse from their jobs, according to Phoenix police.

The unidentified girl was driving a white 2004 Ford eastbound on
Pecos Road when she attempted to make a left turn onto northbound
32nd Street, said Lt. Mark Tallman, a Phoenix Police Department
spokesman. Tallman said the girl failed to yield to oncoming
traffic and was struck by a blue 1998 Buick driven by Bruce Nelson,
58.

Nelson was transported to Maricopa Medical Center with severe
but not life threatening injuries, including leg fractures, Tallman
said.

Because of the accident's location, police were unable to divert
traffic off of westbound Pecos Road, where there is no vehicle
egress, he said.

"You don't have any place to direct traffic at that point,"
Tallman said. "There is nowhere to turn off once you get onto
Pecos."

The fact that it happened at the beginning of rush hour also
contributed to the traffic jam, he said.